Monday, August 14, 2023

MeTV's Back to School with Me Stunt; Remembering Johnny Hardwick and Shelley Smith

Back to School with Me

Go "Back to School with Me" with special academic episodes Sunday, August 27! Bid goodbye to carefree summer days with a full day of shows featuring classrooms, sports, tests and teachers! Grab your pencils and pack your lunch for this full day event reliving all the fun of the going back to school, from first class to graduation. And don’t forget your homework! Make the end of summer a little easier with a full day of episodes about learning, teachers, sports and all things back-to-school on MeTV. It all starts Sunday, August 27 at 9A | 8C!

9A | 8C: Saved By The Bell: "The Last Weekend" — It's the last day at the beach resort and Zack and Stacy are hoping to spend it together. Carosi, however, doesn't approve of their romance. Meanwhile, a secret admirer is sending Slater love letters.
9:30A | 8:30C: Saved By The Bell: "The Fight" — Zach and Slater might turn back into rivals when they fall for a new girl from Idaho. Who'll be the one to have a date with her?
10A | 9C: The Flintstones: "Flintstone of Prinstone" — Fred attends night classes and is drafted to be a quarterback on the school football team.
10:30A | 9:30C: The Flintstones: "The Bowling Ballet" —Fred secretly becomes a ballet pupil in order to regain his form for a big bowling match
11A | 10C:The Flintstones: "High School Fred" — Wilma thinks Fred is about to be promoted when Mr. Slate sends Fred to school for two weeks.
11:30A | 10:30C: The Jetsons: "Elroy's Mob" — Elroy brings home the wrong report card by mistake, angering his father, which causes Elroy to run away with Astro.
12P | 11C: The Brady Bunch: "Today, I am a Freshman" —It's the beginning of another school year, and Marcia panics about becoming a freshman, going as far as pretending to be sick. However, after Mike and Carol see through her act, they insist she'd enjoy school if she were involved in extracurricular activities. Marcia then proceeds to join every group or club available. Meanwhile, Peter tries to build a model volcano on the patio.
12:30P | 11:30C: The Brady Bunch: "Getting Greg's Goat" — After he and his teammates swipe a rival school's mascot in retaliation for theirs being stolen first, Greg is tasked with watching Raquel, a goat. Things get out of control when Raquel proves to be hard to handle, easy to feed and not easy to catch.
1P | 12C: Leave It to Beaver: "Wally's Test" — An upcoming test in history, Wally's weakest subject, has Wally studying all weekend and has Larry and Eddie coming up with a plan that will give them good grades on the test.
1:30P | 12:30C: Leave It to Beaver: "Beaver's I.Q." — After learning that he's going to be taking an I.Q. test, Beaver hits the books, scared after his friends tell him that if he doesn't pass he will be sent to "dumb school."
2P | 1C: The Beverly Hillbillies: "Jethro Goes to School" — Jethro announces that Pearl has sent the family a letter. In this letter, Pearl says how she hopes her son is doing well in school. Jed realizes that Jethro should be in the fifth grade and tells him they have to find a school that day. While driving around Beverly Hills, they stop at the first school they see, Mrs. Potts’ exclusive private school.
2:30P | 1:30C: The Beverly Hillbillies: "Jethro's Graduation" — Jethro is very excited about graduating from the sixth grade. But in order to prevent embarrassment, Mrs. Potts gets help from Drysdale and Diana to get Jethro to miss his sixth grade graduation. She schemes to turn Jed and Jethro’s watches back 45 minutes.
3P | 2C: Gilligan's Island: "The Friendly Physician" — A mad scientist lands on the island and takes the castaways to his castle to perform strange experiments on them. Soon they are locked in a dungeon and trapped in the wrong bodies.
3:30P | 2:30C: Gilligan's Island: "A Man With a Net" — Lord Beasley Waterford, a famous butterfly collector, lands on the island searching for the world's rarest butterfly, the pussycat swallowtail. 4P | 3C: Mama's Family: "Mama Learns to Drive" — Fed up with having to chauffeur Mama all over town, the family decides to teach her to drive. But when Mama finally gets her license, the family is too afraid to let her use their cars!
4:30P | 3:30C: Mama's Family: "Educating Mama" — When Bubba enrolls in night school, the family convinces Mama to join him and earn her high school equivalency diploma.
5P | 4C: The Love Boat: "Isaac's Teacher" — Isaac hides from his high-school teacher; a man tries to please his seal; a wife who thinks she's dying wants to choose her successor.
6P | 5C: The Andy Griffith Show: "The Education of Ernest T. Bass" — Ernest T. is back in Mayberry to get his diploma. He is so determined that Andy convinces Helen to allow him to attend class, but Ernest T. isn't exactly classroom material.


Johnny Hardwick

Voice actor, comedian, writer and producer Johnny Hardwick, who was best known as the voice of Dale Gribble on King of the Hill, has died. He was found dead at his home Austin, Texas, on August 8. Mr. Hardwick was 64.

King of the Hill

Hardwick provided the voice of Dale Gribble on the Fox animated sitcom King of the Hill. The 1997-2010 series centers on the Hills, an American family in the fictional city of Arlen, Texas, as well as their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, classmates, friends, and acquaintances. Dale Gribble is the Hills' chain-smoking, balding, conspiracy-theorist next-door neighbor and Hank's (Mike Judge) best friend. As a result of his paranoia, Dale does not trust the government or "the system". He owns his own pest control business, Dale's Dead Bug, and is also a licensed bounty hunter and President of the Arlen Gun Club. Dale is married to Nancy Hicks-Gribble (Ashley Gardner), a weather reporter and later an anchorwoman for the Channel 84 news. The cast also included Kathy Najimy, Pamela Adlon, Brittany Murphy (1997-2009), Stephen Root, Toby Huss, Jonathan Joss, Lauren Tom, Breckin Meyer, and Tom Petty.

At the time of his death, he was set to reprise the role again in the upcoming revival. It was later revealed that he had recorded "a couple" of new episodes for the revival prior to his death.

He was also its staff writer, story editor and producer from 1997 to 2002. He had three Prime Time Emmy Award nominations, and in 1999 he won an Emmy for producing King of the Hill.

Mr. Hardwick did a great job performing the memorable role of Dale Gribble. We thank him for his work on King of the Hill. He will be greatly missed.

Shelley Smith

Fashion model and actress Shelley Smith, who starred as Sara James on The Associates, has died. She suffered a cardiac arrest on August 5. She died at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on August 8. Ms. Smith was 70.

The Associates

Smith starred as Sara James on the 1979-1980 ABC sitcom The Associates. The series, which was based on the novel of the same name by John Jay Osborn Jr., was the first bonafide starring vehicle for Martin Short and centered on a small group of young novice lawyers who worked at a Wall Street law firm. It was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. The cast included Wilfrid Hyde-White, Joe Regalbuto, Alley Mills, and Tim Thomerson.

Shelley Smith on Diff'rent Strokes

Some of her sitcom guest appearances included The Stockard Channing Show, Angie, The Love Boat (2 episodes), Diff'rent Strokes, and Webster.

She starred as Capt. Carolyn Engel on the 1983-1984 NBC military drama For Love and Honor. Some of her other television guest appearances included Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, The Phoenix, Hart to Hart (2 episodes), Fantasy Island, Hotel, Lady Blue, The New Mike Hammer, Hunter, Magnum, P.I. (2 episodes), Simon & Simon (4 episodes), Dragnet (1989), and Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes).

Ms. Smith was a talented and lovely actress. The Associates had a great cast and was critically acclaimed, but it never found a big audience airing against One Day at a Time. It's too bad ABC didn't give it more of a chance in another time slot. We thank her for work on television. She will be deeply missed.

Nicolas Coster

We also remember actor Nicolas Coster. He had a recurring role as David Warner, the father of Blair Warner, on The Facts of Life. He died on June 26 at a hospital in Florida. Mr. Coster was 89.

Nicolas Coster and Lisa Whelchel on The Facts of Life

Coster had a recurring role as David Warner, Blair Warner's (Lisa Whelchel) father, in five episodes of The Facts of Life from 1982 to 1988. His ex-wife, Monica Warner, was played by Marj Dusay in eight episodes from 1981 to 1987.

Some of his other sitcom guest appearances included No Time for Sergeants, Wendy and Me, Occasional Wife, On Our Own (1978), Husbands, Wives & Lovers (1978), Grandpa Goes to Washington, One Day at a Time, When the Whistle Blows, Police Squad!, Teachers Only (2 episodes), 9 to 5 (3 episodes), Hooperman, Who's the Boss?, Nurses, Coach, 3rd Rock from the Sun (2 episodes), and Crumbs.

Coster starred as Robert Delaney on Another World from 1970 to 1980. He played Anthony Makana in five episodes of One Life to Live. He starred as Lionel Lockridge on Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1993. The role earned him four Daytime Emmy nominations. He starred as Mayor Jack Madison on the digital soap The Bay from 2010 to 2019. The role won him his first Daytime Emmy in 2017. He also worked as a producer from 2010 to 2014.

He played John Eldridge in the 1965 CBS primetime serialized drama Our Private World. He starred as Chief J.E. Carson on The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (also known as Lobo). In 1983, he starred as Dr. Morris Whitford on the short-lived ABC medical drama Ryan's Four.

Some of his other television guest appearances included The Defenders, The Green Hornet, Charlie's Angels, Little House on the Prairie, Baretta, Family, The Rockford Files, Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Dallas (3 episodes), Hart to Hart, Quincy, M.E. (1982), Simon & Simon (3 episodes), Magnum, P.I. (1983), Hardcastle and McCormick, T.J. Hooker, Knight Rider (1983), L.A. Law, thirtysomething (1989), Murder, She Wrote (1989), Life Goes On, Star Trek: The Next Generation, MacGyver, Matlock, Law & Order (2 episodes), and Cold Case.

Mr. Coster was a fine character actor. He was a familiar face on many television shows during his long career. We thank him for the laughs and entertainment that he brought us on television. He will be sorely missed.


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Tuesday, May 6

Night Court - "Funniest Judge in the City" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Abby suspects the courthouse's new "fun judge" may not be as fun as he seems; Gurgs must regain control when her new courthouse welcome video, starring Roz, takes on a life of its own.

Night Court - "A Decent Proposal" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Abby finds herself in charge of two runaway teens; Dan and Julianne balk at the idea that they've become friends; a surprise appearance by a mysterious stranger turns Abby's world upside down.

Tyler Perry's House of Payne - "No Bueno" (BET, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Jazmine reminds a forgetful C.J. about his first wedding anniversary; Curtis and Ella bring over a cake called No Bueno to celebrate, only to learn there is no celebration to be had; Calvin prepares to attend Pookie's wedding solo.

Tyler Perry's Assisted Living - "One Drop" (BET, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Efe's foundation offers free D.N.A. tests, Karen participates and finds out a shocking discovery; Leah employs Two Hunks and a Trunk to spur Jeremy into action to complete his honey-do list.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 5)

Tuesday, May 6

  • Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) - Catch Nick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Reba McEntire (Happy's Place/Malibu Country/Reba), Jenny McCarthy (Two and a Half Men/Jenny) and Jason Priestley (Call Me Fitz/Sister Kate) - E! News has interviews with Reba, Jenny and Jason at 11pm on E!.
  • Kelsey Grammer (Frasier/Partners/Hank/Back to You/Cheers) - It’s a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Emmy®-winning TV icon Kelsey Grammer on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. For the first time, Kelsey gets raw and honest about the effect his sister's murder had on him. He revisits it all in his powerful new book, Karen: A Brother Remembers.
  • Lisa Kudrow (No Good Deed/HouseBroken/Web Therapy/The Comeback/Friends/Mad About You) - Lisa is telling Drew about her first audition ever, her thirty-year wedding anniversary and whether his son has seen Friends on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings. Plus, she's dishing on her thrilling new show No Good Deed.
  • Carol Kane (Taxi/All Is Forgiven/Amerian Dreamer/Pearl/Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) - Carol is joining Drew and they're reminiscing on meeting at SNL in 1982 and talking about Carol's fifty-year career including projects like The Princess Bride and Taxi on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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